Forage-livestock status in farms and ranches of ecological grass-animal husbandry construction and allocation model of grain-warp-feed in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group

Abstract

In order to increase of husbandry production and to have a sustainable development of pastures, it is important to accelerate the construction of ecological grass-animal husbandry, to promote the grassland ecological carrying capacity and to reach the equilibrium in the grassland-livestock balance. We chose twenty-four farms and ranches in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group as study area, satellite imagery from 500-m MODIS, 30-m Landsat, and 4-m GF-2 are used together with annual report data of farms and ranches. We mapped the spatial distribution and the status of degradation of grassland and we computed the net primary productivity (NPP) of farms and ranches in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group, using remote sensing images as input data in a Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM). We then analyzed the carrying capacity of grassland and its over-grazing degree and proposed the construction of artificial grassland mode of ecological grass-animal husbandry in farms and ranches. We found that about 66.16% of natural grassland has been subject to serious degradation in different degrees in the twenty-four farms and ranches, mainly manifested in the decline of grassland vegetation productivity and coverage. The grassland fragmentation area was about 1.55% of the total grassland area. Based on remote sensing the result that annual average grassland yield was about 34.07×104 t, ranging from 27.43×104 t in 2001 to 48.89×104 t in 2013 of farms and ranches in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group. The actual grazing capacity was 164.19×104 sheep units while the theoretical grazing capacity was only 86.83×104 sheep units in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group in 2015. The forage gap was 42.35×104 t and overload rate reached 89% without the consideration of the silage grass and purchased forage. The cultivated land area is 3.95×103 km2 in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group. Converting 10% of the cultivated land area into artificial grassland could provide grass yield amounting to 5.86×103 km2 of the natural grassland, which would meet with the forage demand of livestock in Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group. The implementation of the Grain-Warp-Feed and the Grass-Crop rotation production mode, and the establishment of artificial grassland on cultivated land can improve the grassland quality, grassland-livestock balance, and reduce grassland degradation, which is critical to promoting the ability of the sustainable development of husbandry and ecological protection in pastures. As a measure of agricultural supply side reform, the strategy of transforming grain into forage aims to achieve effective allocation of resources.